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Putting NFL Head Coaches in their Pigeon Holes

Yesterday I heard someone wishing that the Jets would tank so Rex would get fired and the Ravens could hire him as D coordinator again.

We could debate whether they would do that, if the chance arises.

It got me thinking about Bisciotti's decision not to offer the Ravens head job to Rex and instead his leaning to Jason Garrett and ultimately John Harbaugh. Maybe with better players Garrett would have been just as successful as John. Or maybe John, who has a bit more of an edge to him, is just better suited to be an NFL coach.

That got me wondering if you could sort all the coaches by their predominant traits and then see if a certain "types" of coaches are better suited for long-term success in the NFL.

How you categorize a coach is HIGHLY debatable. I'll stipulate that right off the top. You could argue some guys belong in another category, or in more than one. But here is my attempt to create and fill categories...

Cerebral & Intense

(Analytical, thoughtful, but with and old-school attitude that demands hard work and accountability. More pluggers than geniuses.)

(No particular style or philosophy, or experience enough to make a particular mark. Just a guy whose coached for a long time and has been given a shot. These guys sometimes migrate into other categories after they have held jobs for a while. John Harbaugh did)

(A little bit of a left-over category for guys who were hired based on success in the NCAA. Kirk Ferentz is often mentioned as a possible NFL hire someday. You could argue that Carroll is just as much a "CEO" type.)

Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Greg Schiano

Thinking back about Billick, I would say that he could have been called "cerebral intense" or "offensive genius." He sort of started as the latter, at times was the former, but ultimately fell into my "CEO" category.

I think when he was cerebral and intense (taking charge at the podium in Tampa; kicking down the door and asking where is that bastard) he was his most successful; when he stopped intensely connecting with his players and instead talked down at them like an arrogant genius; he was at his worst.

As I said, all very subjective. But I do think some categories produce better head coaches than others.